Mono cartridge on SL1200

Does anyone here have any experience with mono cartridges on the SL1200?
Specifically interested in the DL-102.
But the Grado mono might also be possible - IIRC I have heard of hum problems with Grados on the teccy though.
DL-102 is a heavy beast and might need extra ballast to balance, also has an awkward loading and output level spec.
eg - output level is high enough for MM stage (way high for MC stepup) but loading preferred is 1K Ohm.
Any experiences or tips on using this appreciated.
tks all.

Right, looks like this side of the 1200 art form is decidedly neglected.
Well, I have ordered an AT-MONO 3/LP - not at all sure it is a "proper" mono generator type cartridge as I cannot read nihongo and english info is as sparse as the fuzz on Kojak's pate.
Will be interesting to me at any rate.

Hi Tony,

I've just noticed this thread - it's sometimes impossible to read everything :)

I'd be very interested in your findings with mono cartridges, as I've been considering buying one myself to use with my growing collection of Mono recordings from the 50s and 60s.

The DL-102 would of course be my natural choice but let us all know how the AT performs when you get it. A review in the Strokes of Genius area would be good.

Marco.

That's OK, the whole topic of mono replay does not get much discussion anywhere barring a few enthusiasts (music lovers and collectors of classic recordings).
I have been slowly acquiring a few classic performances and while the mono switch I retrofitted to my phono stage helps a deal, its modus operandi is not a real mono replay, much as not all mono cartridges are true mono generators.
The DL-102 is one that has a true mono generator at a "my budget" type price, there are others from Lyra and Benz and of course the Ortofon SPUs, but they are all rather seriously upmarket to me.
The AT I ordered is cheaper than the DL-102 so seemed worth a punt, many of the other cheaper mono carts are stereo generators wired internally or sometimes jumpered externally to place the stereo coils in parallel or sometimes in series.
Since AT also make a mono version of the 33 (as in PTG) at the same price point as that cartridge, I suspect it will be a true mono generator and am hoping that will translate further down the food chain to the one I have bought. Particularly as it is largely a nippon home market trinket and their home market has a goodly sprinkling of mono enthusiasts and evangelists.
Will blab if it turns out to be a "good thing" - although not too loudly - don't want the second hand mono record market going through the roof before I plunder its treasures :)

i've used the at mono lp/3 for about a week or so. it was more a stop gap at that time, when my 103's cantilever got crushed and i was waiting for my 103r to come in. plus, i picked it up in japan, so it was a really cheap buy. being a stop gap measure, i tried playing it both on stereo and mono records, and it was able to handle both. however, the presentation that it gave wasn't something i enjoyed - dry, and more of 'going through the steps' than washing over you with music. it gave this same presentation whether it was a stereo or mono recording.

i'm now using the at33ptg (stereo) and am very happy with the sound that it's giving. I too hope to sample the at33ptg's mono cart one day and hopefully it will be a big leap up from the mono/lp3.

my opinion - but i think for mono, choice of carts makes a bigger difference to SQ, as well as the matching with the rest of your components. good luck on your own testing, and do share how it goes!

Errr, thanks I think :wah:

I read this just after picking the thing up at the PO and promptly had the "I knew I shouldn't have bought it" feeling. :doh:

Why do people always pipe up when it's too damn late? :steam:
How many times do "friends" tell us where we could have bought better/cheaper right after we spend the cash? :chainsaw:

I would not say all this if you were not forgiven already :kiss:

I'm still learning to drive it but the grin is wide, records consigned to the "sin bin" are being given a run and new treasures discovered amongst them.

No doubt the 33MONO is a better cartridge but this will do me for a while I think.

Will say more in a week when I have given it some time and tweaking.

PS do you have the ability to translate the pamphlet ? - wakarimasen (IIRC)

that's the fun of the internet and forums isn't it? the pure serendipity of it all .. ;)

don't write it off yet. give it a bit of time to run in and it may just surprise you. it didn't really suit my setup, but may yield quite different results for you. I can already see that you have the 'grin' so everything's good.

i can't translate the entire pamphlet, only enough to understand what the VTF and compliance were. i'm not, nor pretend to understand japanese. wakarimasen is correct though ... then again, depending on what you're trying to express. :p

Quote:

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then again, depending on what you're trying to express

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Mine not unnerstan' dis kacktahs, him not mean nuffin to me. :confused:

Just for a guide, what alignment, loading and VTF did you try?

I assume you have the stock arm?

My deck is stock apart from the headshell.

ciao,
TG

heh. that would be right then.

it's been a while since i used the cart, but i did recall that i stuck to the recommended settings ... yes, i'm using the stock 1200mk2 arm, non-KABed at that time, so it should be identical to yours.

I used a 2.0g VTF, with the given range of 1.5-2.5g. i either used a 1k or 100ohm load, i can't remember right now. mostly likely the 100ohm.as for alignment, i used baerwald, one of the paper protractors downloaded off the vinylengine.com site. fwiw, i remember noting down that the tonearm height should be set to 1.5 and that the output for this cart was 1.2mV. (i take down these bits on a sticky note, to make changing carts easier. :))

Thanks for that, it was sounding somewhat thin and tinny on 2gm VTF at first and I notched it up to 2.25 which "filled it in a deal" - seeming like 1K is about the best load.
Set alignment with the Technics guage at first then checked it with a protractor after and added around 2mm overhang to match that - not sure about that yet.
I used a 1mm spacer and still have VTA @ 1mm.
Has around 25 hours on now and sounding good - might have to find someone to translate the pamphlet though, I have a suspicion it might have very little vertical compliance and therefore be bad news for stereo pressings.
Definitely bringing my mono pressings to life though.